FOX 2000 Pictures Presents An Adam Fields/Heyday
Films Production, RAVENOUS, starring Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle,
Jeremy Davies, Jeffrey Jones, John Spencer, Stephen Spinella,
Neal McDonough and David Arquette. The film was directed by Antonia
Bird. It was written by Ted Griffin, and produced by Adam Fields
and David Heyman. The executive producer is Tim Van Rellim, the
director of photography is Anthony B. Richmond, B.S.C., the production
designer is Bryce Penn, and the film editor is Neil Farrell. Music
is composed by Michael Nyman & Damon Albarn. The score is
conducted by Michael Nyman.

A tale of a man faced with the prospect of becoming what - and
who - he eats, RAVENOUS had its origins in an actual historical
event: the Donner Pass disaster of l846-47, in which a group of
immigrants were snowbound for months en route to California. When
their food ran out, some survived by eating the corpses of their
fallen comrades.

The event sparked the imagination of screenwriter Ted Griffin.
"I had this idea," he remembers, "that cannibalism
wasn't so much a matter of survival, but was more a matter of
want." Manifest Destiny, the Weendigo Indian myth, Darwin's
"Survival of the Fittest" theories, westward expansion
and such contemporary topics as drug addiction and self-analysis
were additional themes and metaphors Griffin wished to explore.
But above all, he wanted to write a piece that would scare audiences.
"I hope it will be very frightening," he explains. "I
wrote in a lot of shocks and surprises that with any luck will
have audiences jumping."

Griffin's script was an important attraction to the filmmakers
and actors. "I think Ted has an original and fresh voice,"
says producer Adam Fields, who brought the young writer's script
to Fox 2000 Pictures. "Merging a sense of dark humor to the
gruesome subject of cannibalism was a novel idea and provided
the basis for an interesting project.

"Ted's screenplay had mature, adult characters," adds
Fields, "the kind we rarely see in scary movies. It reminded
me of 'The Shining' and 'The Thing', with, of course, overtones
of the Donner Party incident."

Director Antonia Bird brings out this vision and unique brand
of humor. "The story cannot be categorized," says Bird.
"It is energetic and fast-paced, with a very strong, satirical
edge and dark humor. So it's really a mix of many things: adventure
story, 'whodunnit' and satire."

Robert Carlyle appreciated the questions posed by Griffin's screenplay.
"What attracted me to the script," he explains, "was
the notion of cannibalism - would you do it or not? Would anybody,
in any given situation succumb to cannibalism if he or she was
suffering from the kind of insatiable hunger described in the
Indian legend?"

Several of the actors found much to admire in the screenplay's
surprising wit and humor. Says David Arquette: "What appealed
to me about the story and my character was that he was really
kind of 'out there' for a period piece. It was fun to play with
that kind of humor.

"I was a little dubious about making a 'horror' film,"
says Guy Pearce. "But I really appreciated RAVENOUS' uniqueness.
We tried to give it an odd sense of humor and irony, which we
thought would add a lot of fun to the film."